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He simply sent a text message to the Tramigo T22 device in the car to determine its location, and another to shut down the engine of the vehicle. The Trinidad Express reported on August 1 that his third call was to the police, who were able to recover the car and catch the thieves.
About 2,500 vehicles are stolen each year in Jamaica, says Superintendent Fitz Bailey, Head of the Organised Crime Investigative Division (OCID). “There is no doubt that there are significant challenges in respect to this type of crime,” he notes.
One challenge hampering the stolen vehicle recovery process is the technique some criminals now use of cloning documents, Superintendent Bailey said. This involves replicating the documents of a properly registered vehicle with the particulars of the stolen one.
While there have been major shut-downs of operations that refurbish and market stolen motor vehicles, the arrests and incarceration of perpetrators have not deterred others.
“The Tramigo T22 is a valuable tool for protecting your vehicle,” says Emile Spence, Jamaica National New Business and Research Executive, “It is easy to operate and very effective.”
The Jamaica Automobile Association (JAA), a subsidiary of Jamaica National, is the distributor of the Tramigo tracking product in Jamaica, providing a method of protecting assets left alone for prolonged periods. This includes boats, cars, bikes and other assets, and alerts the owner about anything unusual with an SMS mobile telecommunications message.
“By sending a simple text message to the device, you get a report on where your vehicle is, and also its direction and speed,” Mr. Spence said. Both fleet managers and private owners of motor vehicles can find such information essential.
“It has come to play a reassuring role in my life,” said Mrs. Diane Smith-Sears, Managing Director of Manufacturers Credit and Information Services, a sister company the JAA within the JN Group. She has personally been using one of the Tramigos for more than a year.
“My son and I use it when we are going out of town,” she said. “If a vehicle is stolen you can shut off the ignition remotely. You can even listen to conversations around vehicle.”
Distributed throughout the Caribbean and in more than 100 countries, the Tramigo device provides location information based on 2,000 landmarks around the island and owners of the equipment can add another 250 personalised landmarks.
